Improved beiok-peess



@nigh gieten.' Battiti @frn JOHN M. ENOS, OF ST. JOSEPH, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF1 AND THOMAS SWARTW-OUT, OF KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN.

Letters Patent No. 76,613, dated April 14, 1868.

IMPROVED BRICK-PRESS.

To ALL WHOM IT MAY eoNcnRN;

` Be it known that I, JOHN M. ENOS, of St. Joseph, in the county of Berrien, and State of Michigan, have' invented a new and useful Im'provementwinBrickjhlnchincs; and I do hereby` declare and make known that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, v

and the letters and figures marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

`My invention relates more especially to that class of machines or presses which are designed for use m the manufacture of concrete brick, but the same vmay-also be used for manufacturing brick of the ordinary kind and size; and said invention consists in a novel arrangement for applying the pressure, whereby a great amount of ypresst'ir'e can ,bei obtained, which is constantly increasing as the operation progresses, un't`il the brick is compressed to-the required dimensions or density, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

To enable those skilled in the art to understand how to construct'and use my said invention, I will proceed to describe the same lwith particularity, making reference, in so doing, to the aforesaid drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of lmy invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same; and t Figure 3' is across-section of same, taken just above the mould.

Similar letters of reference inthe several figures denote the same parts of my said invention.

A represents, the base of themachine. DD are two upright standards, forming tvays in which the plunger F moves up and down, being` connected at the top, in any suitable manner, b y a cross-piece, D. Between the standards` D, upon the -top of the platform A, may be a'steelplate, a, forming the bottom of theA mould, as hereinafter described. In the platform A. 'is cut a groove or channel, at one side of the press, which receives a removable slide, B, said slide being providednpon each side with ribs or flanges b 6,' which form Ways in which the mould-boxes C are placed preparatory to b eing arranged in thepress, as hereinafter mentioned, the said -mouldboxes being without bottom or top, the boxes being arranged in the press in such a manner that the platform or its plate a forms the bottom of thevmould, and a die, E, secured to the plunger F, which fits accurately into said box C, forms the `top of the mould, as herein described. The mould-boxes are held firmly in place in the press by means ofa catch, J, upon therod I, which is held in a socket or recess in one side of the 4mould-box by means of a spring, s, said catch being thrown out when it is desired to remove the box from Vthe press. There are shoulders c c formed in the standards D D, as shown in fig. 1, to confine the boxes and hold them down closely upon thebase-plate a'or its equivalent. g

M represents an attachment to the main platform, depressed sufficiently, so that a boardmay be arranged thereon, Whose upper surface shall be in the same plane with 'the plate a, so that when the brick is pressed, the y mould may bepushcd out of the press upon said board, and the same carried away, as desired.

There are designed to be two or more slides D, so that njhen the moulds are lled they may be placed upon said slides and brought to the press; and when the slide is arranged in the groove in the platform, as shown, the mould can be pushed into the press until the catch lJ prevents its further" movement, and the slide B is removed for another. v

It will be observed that the sides of the standards D are ush with the sides of the mould-boxes, as seen inlig. 3, so as to give support to the sides of the moulds, whereby they may be made-much lighteror thinner than would otherwise be practicable, the moulds being intended to *be of cast iron.

It will be observed that the pressing-dieE is made removable from the plunger, so that one die can be taken out and a different one be put in; so that, if it be desired to usethe machine to manufacture brickof the com= mon size, moulds and dies of appropriate dimensions may be'substituted for those used in themanufacture'of concrete brick; and in such case four or more bricks may be made at one operation, the mould-boxes and pressing-dies being constructed with that view.

The pressing-device consists of the plunger F, the arms H G, and the lever L, thel arm `Il being -pvoted to the plunger atf, and to the lever L at h, and the arm G- being pivoted to the lever L at f2, and to the frame D D', at g.

through the lever L, as shown, to keep the point through which the pin passes in the same vertical line, so as to prevent any longitudinal play of the lever L; or said end-movement of the lever may be prevented in anv other suitable manner.

In iig. 1 the partsare shown in the position which they occupy preparatory to applying the pressure.

To apply the pressure, the long arm of the lever is depressed; and it will be observed thgt the short arm of the lever, represented by the horizontal distance between two vertical lines drawn respectively through the points cl z, is constantly decreasing as the pressure goes on, so that the relative pressure upon the brick is constantly increasing in the same proportion, while the power remains the same. y

The vertical movement of the plunger depreciatcs in velocity as the operation progresses, so that as the brick becomes more dense, the movement of the pressing-plunger diminishes and the pressure becomes greater, until, when the vertical lines through the points CZ 7i coincide, the operation is finished, and the lever moved up tdl its former position, when the mould is pushed out and replaced by another, as aforesaid, preparatory to repeating the operation.

It will`be observed that the downward pressure upon the `arm H is not the only -pressure that acts to press the brick, but the powerwhich is exerted upon the fulcrum-point d'also reacts and irs-applied to press the brick, thus doubling the pressure that is ordinarily. obtained by the action of presses, irrespective of the effect produced, as aforesaid, by the gradual shortening ofthe arm of the lever inthe operation of .the machine. v

In manipulating the clay and pressing the brick, oneV of the moulds is taken upon a slide, B, and filled with clay andiplaced in the groove in the platform, when the 'mould is shoved from the slide Jinte the press to the proper position, when the lever is brought down, pressing the brick as desired, and then raised to allowthe mould to be pushed out by the operation of pushing the succeeding mould into the press, the pressed mould being removed and the brick taken out, when the mould is returned to be refilled and -the operation repeated.

Having described the construction and operation of my invention, I will proceed to specify what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent.

I claim the combination of the frame'D D', lever L, arms G H, plunger F, platform A, slide B, mould-box C, spring S, and rod I, arranged to operate substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

JOHN M. ENOS.

Witnesses:

W. E. Manns, L. L. GoBUnN.

K represents guide-blocks moving up and down in suitable ways, a' pin, k, passing through the same andi 

